


A Dog's Life

by RebaK1tten



Category: NCIS
Genre: Fluff, Gen, M/M, Pets, mention of Jackson Gibbs, mentions of Tony/Gibbs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-06
Updated: 2014-02-06
Packaged: 2018-01-11 08:38:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 691
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1170982
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RebaK1tten/pseuds/RebaK1tten
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The dog is aware he’s still there, occasionally glancing at him, ears keeping track of him.  He doesn’t need a dog; it’s ridiculous to think he does.  </p>
<p> </p>
<p>From a prompt in LJ's comment fic from NCISVU_LJ "Gibbs rescues a stray dog he finds on the street or at a crime scene"</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Dog's Life

“Scram, go home,” Jethro says to the stray dog, who’s sniffing at him as he walks back to his car, parked behind the hardware store.

He puts the garden hose in the trunk and watches the dog slink off towards the garbage bins, tail between its legs.  The dog looks over its shoulder as though fearing Jethro will follow.

Jethro sits in his car, sipping his coffee watching the dog.  He’s got chores at home, but he’s taking a few minutes out to get supplies, including a plain donut.  Somehow, over the last couple of years, it’s become harder and harder to find a plain donut.

The dog isn’t a dog, he notes, she’s just a pup.  And a she, smallish bitch, dark red, probably some Irish setter in there.  Jethro doesn’t know a lot about dog breeds, he grew up with mutts and when he’s had dogs, they’ve always come from the shelter.  The dog has medium big feet and her ribs are showing through, hip bones starting to show.  She’d probably do better sniffing through the coffee shop’s garbage, he thinks, watching as she noses out a wilted plant from the hardware store trash.

The dog is aware he’s still there, occasionally glancing at him, ears keeping track of him.  He doesn’t need a dog; it’s ridiculous to think he does.  Right now he’s got that foolish, stupid (and pretty damn good) thing with Tony taking his time.  And he’s invited his dad out to visit and to re-meet Tony in his new role.  He needs to do this because although it’s foolish and stupid (and pretty damn good) it seems like it’s going to be permanent.  And he’s gone most of the day, he’d be leaving the dog alone.

Of course, his neighbor, Anne, just lost her ten year old Dalmatian and she takes care of his house if he’s gone for a couple of days.  During the winter, the dog would stay in the house where it’s warm.  For summer, he can build a dog house for the back yard and a dog run that’s partly in the sun and the shade, that wouldn’t be hard.  Tony can help, for all his whining, he’s good with projects.

And his dad would love the company of a dog when Jethro’s at work. They always had dogs growing up.

Tony would love the pup - it would grow up with the two of them.  They both like long hikes and the dog can be in the back seat when they take a weekend trip. 

He looks up and the dog is sitting a few yards away, staring at him.  Jethro reaches over for the bag with the donut, watching the dog’s ears perk up.  He takes a small bite, breaks off a bit of the rest and tosses it in between them.  The dog catches it before it hits the ground, watching Jethro cautiously.

“Smart girl, being careful, that’s a good girl,” he tells her.  He leans over and opens the passenger door, putting the rest of the donut on the seat.  He pats the seat, whistles and calls out gently, “Come on, girl, time to go.”

She hesitates for a minute and then ignores the passenger door and jumps in through the open driver’s door.  She scarfs the rest of the donut, sits down and looks at him appraisingly. 

Jethro reaches over slowly to shut the passenger door, letting her sniff his hand.  She watches him carefully and gives him a small lick as he shuts the door.

He pulls out of the parking lot as she settles in the seat, resting her chin by his leg.  “Okay, Samantha, we’ll get you home and find something for lunch and then you get a bath.  While you take a nap, I’ll run out and get you some supplies.”

The dog sighs and closes her eyes as Jethro rests his hand on the back of her neck, scratching behind her ears.  “We’ve got some rules we’ll need to discuss, but we can do that tonight when you meet Tony.  And don’t let him give you any grief about being a red-head.”


End file.
